Firefly's Powers
by Chevron-Ice
Summary: Hotaru thinks she’s going insane. She’s starting to hear things, voices. Her ‘episodes’ don’t last long, only a couple of minutes. But when she has an ‘episode’ during a fight, it hurts the Youma, who manages to send her to a different world
1. Prologue

Okay, for those of you who recognize this story, yes I am still alive. Due to various things happening in my life all at the same time I was unable to acces the internet for some months. Add on top of that some discouragement, and you get the perfect recipie for Writers Block. Writers Block is an insidious little virus that attacks without warning and takes quite a lot of effort to dislodge. So my poor little story was left tucked in a folder and neglected.

Fortunately, I recently recieved and innoculation for Writers Block and have decided to clean up my story and re-post it. I will upload one chapter a week, giving me some time to make sure I am completly over my Writers Block.

For those who reviewed while I was sick, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You helped me get over my illness.

See you next week,

Ice.

* * *

**Prologue**

What's happening to me? Am I going crazy? They're getting louder now, harder to block.

The voices, that is.

That's right. Little Firefly is going crazy. Hearing things. Voices talking to her in her head.

It started after the fight with Chaos. I don't know why. Maybe he's not dead, maybe he's just weak.

Maybe it's just me.

Like I said, after the fight with Chaos, every now and then, I'd hear something. A whisper, a fragment of a sentence. At first, I thought someone had said something. After all, the voices sounded like the others, Usa-mama, Ruka-Papa, Michi-Mama. But the third or fourth time it happened, I was watching Ruka-Papa and SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING! Her lips didn't move, her throat didn't move, nothing! That's when I knew.

I'm going crazy.

Since then, they've gotten louder. It's harder to pretend I didn't hear anything. They're so loud, that when someone says something, I'm never quite sure that they actually said it or if it was just me. They're coming faster too.

My little 'Episodes'.

At first the voice's were quiet, and it was nearly a week to the next 'Incident'. Now they're every day. Sometimes there is more than one 'Episode' per day.

I'm really losing it.

And I think Michi-Mama suspects something. She keeps asking me if I'm Okay, Do I feel all right, Is there something I want to talk about, … Things like that. Maybe she'll think I have boy troubles at school.

Maybe pigs will fly.

I've tried to keep it from her, tried not to worry her, but I don't know how much longer I can keep it a secret. I don't won't them to worry about me.

I don't won't to lose them.

I'm so afraid. What will happen when they find out? I'm scared that they will make me leave, or put me in one of those loony bin places, with the white padded walls and the white straight jackets, in the room between Napoleon and Alexander the Great.

Maybe I can be the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

Setsuna is supposed to be coming on Saturday. They'll know then. You can't keep this sort of thing from the Keeper of Time. She'll know, and then so will the others. Maybe I can do something in the meantime. Maybe I can find out what's wrong with me.

Maybe.

**- - -**

A lone figure stands in the shadows, with the weight of the world on her shoulders, watching a girl with dark hair walk slowly home in a mirror.

"Everything is as it should be."

Or perhaps, just the fate of one girl.


	2. Chapter 1

Hello all!

Well, It's been a week and as promised I am posting the next chapter.

A big "Thank You!" to **God'schild777** and **Spirit of the Dead** for reviewing. And yes Spirit, you have read the last version of this. I remember you sent me some reviews. There isn't that many noticeable changes, just a little tightening of the plot and smoothing out some of the inconsistencies.

Oh well, on with the show!

Ice.

**A/N **After some advice from **Spirit of the Dead**, there has been some slight changes to this chapter. Mostly just some fleshing out in a couple of places, giving it a bit more depth. All advice is welcome as it helps me to be a better Author.

* * *

**Chapter One.**

_Oh, man! Of all the fights to be late to! Why did I have to be late for this one?_ Hotaru thought as she ran, gasping for breath.

The Sailor Senshi was in a fight for their lives. It had all started with the Inner Senshi.

**_- Flashback -_**

The inner senshi were all walking home after an afternoon relaxing at the park. Usagi had woken up that morning and decided that it was the perfect day to have a picnic and together with Minako managed to convince Rei, Ami and Makoto to come with them. After a day of fun and laughter, they decided to pack up and go to the Crown Arcade before heading home. Which wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"I still can't believe you got that guy's phone number Mina." Rei groaned, tugging on her hair in embarrassment.

"I'm telling you Rei, all you need to do is smile, flip your hair, and sweetly ask for it." Mina grinned, her hair bouncing cheerfully behind her. "All men fall for the hair flip."

"And what about girls like Ami?" Mokoto protested as she shifted the picnic basket to her other hand. "They can't flip their hair; it's too short."

"Or you Mako. You always have your hair tied up in that ponytail." Ami said as she trailed behind.

Just as Makoto was about to reply, a scream cut through the air.

"Let's go girls." Said Usagi as she started to run towards the trouble. It didn't take long to locate. At the edge of the park, standing in the middle of the road and in front of some stores was a Youma. It was breathing fire and tossing cars around as it absorbed energy from anyone who wasn't fast enough to get away. In the confusion, the girls managed to transform into their senshi forms without being noticed.

Very quickly they realized that the Youma they were fighting was not their ordinary Youma.

"Mercury! What's with this Youma? Why can't we hit it?" A frustrated Mars yelled at the blue haired genius that was furiously typing away at her computer.

"I don't know! I can't get any data on it!" replied a frantic Mercury as she dodged a piece of flying lamppost. "It's like it's blocking my scans somehow! I can't even get enough data to analyse its movements, or anticipate an attack"!"

"We need help!" cried Sailor Moon. "I'm calling the Outers!"

**_- End Flashback - _**

_And now we're getting creamed! Mercury is down, Venus isn't far behind and Mars looks like she has a tree stuck in her arm! Of all the times to be late!_

Hotaru transformed into Super Sailor Saturn as she rushed onto the battlefield that was taking place at the edge of the park.

"Your late!" growled Uranus.

"I know, I know!" replied a breathless Saturn.

"You better have a damn good reason for it!" Uranus snapped as she dodged another attack from the strange Youma.

_I do. If only I could tell you. But you wouldn't understand._

**_- Flashback -_**

Hotaru stood in the middle of her strangely empty room, looking around her. There wasn't much left in it. It had an empty chest of drawers, a bed and a desk. On top of the desk was a letter addressed to the senshi and a photo. Hotaru picked up the photo and stared at it. It was of her and the Outers, at the beach. It was taken last week.

It was on that day that she knew what she had to do.

_I'm sorry. I know you won't understand. But I have to do this. I don't see any other way. I know that I'm going to hurt you, but if I stay, I'll hurt you more. I refuse to let you watch me go insane. I won't put you through that pain, that torment. _

As Hotaru replaced the photo, a solitary tear trickled down her cheek.

_Now, do I have everything?_ Hotaru looked around her room one last time, making sure everything was put away. Seeing that she had everything, she zipped up her bag, and put it in her sub-space pocket. As she turned to leave, she noticed that her communicator was flashing, and then realized that it had been flashing for a while.

_That's the distress signal! They're in trouble! _

**_- End Flashback -_**

_No time to dwell on that Hotaru. Focus on the Youma._

Saturn stared at the Youma. It was a strange looking Youma, with its eye-smarting bright orange skin and bright blue hair.

_You could almost mistake it for a human. If you were in the dark. Or colour blind. And ignored the fangs-for-teeth, the Kitty-slit eyes, the super-human agility and strength and occasional fire breathing. Yup. Almost. _

_Now, how do we stop this thing?_ Saturn looked around her, taking note of the damage to her friends.

Uranus was the closest to her right, and didn't look to bad. She had a graze down her right side like she had bounced or slid across concrete. Just past Uranus was Neptune. Neptune had a gash in her hair, turning her normally wavy aqua coloured hair into a dark brown mess.

Off to the left of Saturn stood Jupiter, who looked exhausted. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches and her back bow looked like it was about to fall off. Jupiter stood in front of an injured Mars whose arm had been pierced by some wood. Mars held the unconscious Mercury in her lap. Mercury looked like she had taken a pretty heavy hit on her head.

Just beyond them were Venus and Sailor Moon. Venus was in terrible shape. Her hair was singed, her skirt was torn and she had a gash the length of a football field on her thigh. She could barely stand, let alone fight. Helping her was Sailor Moon. Like all of the others, she too bore wounds from the fight. One of her sleeves had fallen off and by the look of her arm it was probably due to being thrown across the ground, her gloves and skirt were torn, and she had blood running down her face from a cut on her forehead.

_Hang on a minute._ "Where are Pluto and Tuxedo Kamen?" a bewildered Saturn asked of nobody.

"We don't know," replied the injured Mars. "They haven't responded to our calls, and by the looks of it, that masked idiot probably won't show." Hurt flickered across the face of Sailor Moon.

_Things-To-Do-Today:  
__Kill this Youma.  
Kill or at least very-badly-maim Mamoru.  
Disappear._

Saturn turned her attention back to the Youma. _Well, this is going to be fun,_ she thought sarcastically before launched a sudden attack on the Youma.

"SATURN GLAIVE SURPRISE!"

"Saturn, no! Don't!"

Just as Saturn launched her attack, the Youma smirked and threw a wall of power at her attack, causing it to rebound back onto Uranus.

"What?" Saturn was shocked. This had never happened before, in all of her lives that she could remember.

"We tried to warn you," a weary Jupiter informed Saturn. "But our attacks just don't work on it. Or we think they don't. We're not sure. We haven't been able to land one. It's as if it can tell they're coming, so it reflects the attack back onto one of us."

"In that case, all we have to do is distract it just long enough for Sailor Moon to destroy it." Saturn stated firmly. _But how?_ She frowned in concentration. _Ugh. I just can't think straight with all this ringing. Wait. Ringing?!?! _Dread and horror began to fill her. _No! Not now! Not in the middle of a fight!_

Saturn clutched her head as the ringing began to get louder, and with the ringing came the voices. _No! Stop it!_

::Why n…::

::I can't believe this…::

::All I have to do is …::

::Just one more…::

With each voice talking in her head, the noise got louder. Unbeknownst to Saturn, as the voices got louder the Youma began to have trouble as well.

"You! What are you doing! Aaargh!!" the Youma roared, clutching its head. "Get out! Get out of my head!" In her pain, Saturn never saw the Youma throw the wave of power at her until it hit, throwing her towards the wall behind her.

"STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!"

Just as Saturn had predicted, the Senshi attacks did work on the Youma, all they needed was for it to be distracted for long enough. The Youma didn't see Sailor Moon's attack coming until it was too late and then it was dust.

"Saturn! Are you okay?" Sailor Moon turned around, looking for her small friend.

"Saturn?"

**- Later that day -**

"Setsuna, what happened?" Usagi asked, nearly in tears. "Where is Hotaru?"

All of the Senshi had gathered at Rei's temple to try to discover what happened to Hotaru. Rei had been checking the fires, Michiru was consulting her mirror and Ami was scanning for Hotaru's communicator signal, but none of them had found anything. Haruka was attempting to pace a hole in the floor and muttered under her breath while Makoto sat in the corner holding a distraught Usagi.

"Forgive me Your Highness, but I do not know," replied Setsuna. "When the Youma hit Hotaru, it also managed to create a portal behind her."

"So just check the Gates of Time! See where she went!" Haruka demanded in frustration.

"It's not that simple. You see, wherever that portal sent Hotaru, it went through my Gates. The forced entry has damaged the gates, and it will take time for me to fix the gates and to then determine whether Hotaru was sent through the Gates of Time or the Gates of Worlds, or both." Setsuna explained to her horrified audience.

"You mean she could be anywhere?" gasped Makoto.

"Or when." whispered Ami.

**- At the perfectly-fine Time Gates -**

Sailor Pluto stood alone in front of her gates, watching the world that Hotaru had fallen into.

_I'm sorry every one. But if she'd stayed, it would have hurt us even more than now. She needs to be with people who will understand what she's going through, who can help her to control her developing powers. And soon they will need her, perhaps more than she will need them._

* * *

Well? Good, Bad or Ugly? Tell me what you think; even if you think it's horrible, I want to know. How can I develop my writing skills if no one tells me what they think was good or where I needed to be better? All reviews are accepted, even flames or anonymous reviews. 

There's a little purple button below this. You might want to click on it. See what happens.

Just a thought. :o)

Ja!

Ice.


	3. Chapter 2

Another week, another chapter.

Thank you for your reviews. **Spirit of the Dead** made some good points about my last chapter, so some areas has been re-written. Feel free to have another look at it. There are no major plot changes, but I think the chapter has a better flow. What do you think?

Ice.

* * *

**Chapter Two  
**

The portal that Sailor Saturn had fallen into opened up about 100 feet above a city. Saturn flew out of the portal semi-conscious then fell straight down. Just as she was gaining consciousness again, her body slammed into the ground forcing her back into unconsciousness. Purple light sparkled around her as she lost her transformation and a black leather bag appeared beside her.

**- Elsewhere -**

"Hey, did you feel that?"

"Yeah. We should check it out."

"I'll let the others know."

**- Back with Hotaru -**

_Owwww._ Hotaru groaned. _Whatever that Youma hit me with sure did hurt. _

_What happened?_ _Okay, I remember being late for the fight, cause I was packing my stuff. When I got there, the Youma didn't have a scratch on him but all of the others were hurt because the Youma managed to deflect our attacks back onto ourselves. I had one of my episodes and the Youma hit me with something. Then what happened? _

_I don't know. It's distorted, and fragmented like I'm trying to see a reflection through a broken mirror. All I can remember are images, impressions. There were Gates, not the Time gates but similar. Someone's next to them. Pluto, maybe? No wait, there's two someone's. But then who's the other?_

_Stars. I saw a river of stars floating on a dark blue sea. And there was someone standing there. I can't quite make out who it is. A man, but I don't know why I think it's a man, you can't tell. I just have this feeling it was a man. _

_I know I saw other things, but they're blurry and I can't quite make them out, yet I know that they're important, that there's something that I need to know there. What was it? _

_Falling. I remember falling. The portal must have opened above the ground, and I must have fallen to the ground because the next thing I remember is pain, white blinding pain. Okay, let's get this over with. Where am I? _Hotaru cautiously opened her eyes and looked up.

Straight into another pair of eyes.

**- - - **

Sakura was sitting in her room doing her English homework when she felt an enormous surge of power.

"Hey, did you feel that?" she asked of her guardian, Kero.

"Yeah. We should check it out." He replied as he flew towards the window. He was concerned, because this unknown power could very well be a danger to his young charge and friend.

"I'll let the others know." Sakura grabbed her cell phone, and started dialling the relevant numbers as she jumped out her window.

Moments after the room had emptied of its occupants, the door creaked open.

"Typical."

**- About 5min later -**

Sakura was running towards the intersection where she and her friends had agreed to meet before heading to where the power surge came from.

"Hey guys!" Sakura called out. Waiting for her was her best friend Tomoyo and her bodyguards. Sakura could never remember the names of the bodyguards. They all looked the same; tall women with long hair wearing a suit and sunglasses that they wore at all times even if it was dark. And they were all so very intimidating. As she got closer, Shaoran dropped down from the tree branch above the street.

"You know Kinomouto, you'd think being as you were the one to call us, you would have got here first. But no, you get here last." Sarcasm dripped in buckets from Shaoran's voice. Sakura glared daggers in response.

"Come on Sakura, time to get changed." Tomoyo chirped as she dragged her friend away from the fight.

Sakura sweat dropped. "I don't think I really need to get changed Tomoyo." protested Sakura as she was slowly dragged towards the waiting van. "We're just going to check things out. What ever it was is probably gone by now."

"Well then, why did you ring me?" Tomoyo countered, still dragging Sakura. "Ladies, help me here."

"Because you were complaining at school about nothing having happened in ages and I knew that if something did happen tonight and you weren't here, you would have killed me." Sakura replied, panic tingeing her voice as the bodyguards pushed her into Tomoyo's van. "Shaoran, help!" cried Sakura as the van doors started to shut behind her.

"I'm not stupid Sakura." stated Shaoran. "We both know Tomoyo is going to get you into one of her costumes whether you like it or not and whoever tries to interfere is going to have those bodyguards attack them." He folded his arms, closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, waiting for the girls to finish playing dress-up.

Ten minutes later, the van doors opened again, with a triumphant Tomoyo walking out first, and an embarrassed Sakura tiptoeing behind. Shaoran, not looking up, said "A whole wardrobe change in less than ten minutes. I'm impressed."

"That's because she didn't give me much to put on." Shaoran looked up and froze. Sakura stood awkwardly in the van doorway, looking rather embarrassed, and Shaoran could see why. Sakura was wearing a midnight coloured halter neck top that had a yellow sequined five-pointed star on the chest. Her skin-tight leather skirt was the same colour blue as the top and was decorated with small silver moons and yellow stars and suns. Her skirt came to about three inches above the knee but it had splits going up both sides, coming to about halfway up her thigh. In her left ear was a silver crescent moon, and in her right ear was a golden sun. Calf-high black boots with a three-inch stiletto spike heel completed her ensemble.

_I can't believe she actually got me to put this on._ Sakura blushed at the look on Shaoran's face. _I just hope Touya doesn't see me in this._ Sakura gave her supposedly 'Best Friend' a dirty look, and then cleared her throat. "Keroberos said he would meet us where the power came from, at Penguin Park. We should get going now."

"R-right." stammered Shaoran. _Where the heck did Tomoyo get that outfit?_

"Why does everything happen at Penguin Park?" Tomoyo asked. "Hey guys! Wait up!"

Just as they got to Penguin Park, Keroberos flew down to meet them. "Whatever it was, I think it may be gone." He said. "I've flown over this place twice now, and I couldn't sense anything."

"I, too, can sense nothing." Yue landed behind them. "I believe whatever it was has gone."

"Well then, we might as well –"

"Hey guys?" Tomoyo interrupted, pointing over to where the playground was. "What's that? Is that a body?" There, lying on the ground in the park was indeed a body. Sakura turned and looked at her guardians.

"What?" Keroberos asked defensively. "We weren't looking for people, we were looking for that power surge which came from up there, not down here," he stated, pointing upwards.

"Well, maybe that person had something to do with that power you sensed." Tomoyo said as she walked towards the body, her trusty camera recording everything.

"Like what?" Shaoran asked. "In order to get up there, they would have to have wings."

"Not unless she fell." Sakura whispered, horrified. As they had gotten close, it was clear that the body was female. She was very pretty, with long black hair that came to about her shoulder blades. The girl wore black jeans that had holes in the knees and a rich purple top with a deep square cut neck. She wore black boots and a long black leather jacket. Dangling from her ears were small amethyst jewels and around her neck was another amethyst, set in a web of silver. It was obvious that this girl loved black and purple. It was also obvious that the girl was lying in a shallow crater.

"Impossible." Stated Yue. "To have fallen from that height would have killed her."

Just as Keroberos leaned in closer to get a better look at this girl, she opened her eyes.

* * *

For those who didn't catch it at the top, Chapter 1 has been re-written. Have another look at it and tell me what you think.

If anyone has any thoughts on this chapter or my story as a whole, let me know.

If anyone has any thoughts on how to make this story flow better or any places where you think I could make some adjustments, again, let me know. I'll never learn to be a better writter if no one offers any advice. And I would really like to be a good writter.

Go on, push the little purple button.

I really want you to.

**Ice.**


	4. Chapter 3

Well, here we are again. Yet another _thrilling_ instalment of _Firefly's Powers_ and thank you so much for taking the time to read my rambling author notes.

I would like to say a big Hello and Thank You to our new reviewers **James Birdsong** (interesting last name you have James) and **sin.nighthawk**.

Oh, and **God'schild777**? The crossover is with _Card Captor Sakura._ I've chosen not to use the Dub Names. If you are famillier with the show, Madison is Tomoyo and Li Shaoron is now Shaoron Li. Right now, those would be the main differences. If you are completely unfamiller with the show I can only suggest you google it. I've set my story a couple years after the end of the show and will only briefly cover the plot-line of _CCS._ I hope that helps.

Ice.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three**

Keroberos had just enough time to notice that the girl had dark violet eyes, when this strange girl brought up her left fist and punched him so hard he flew backwards and landed in front of the others.

Yue stepped in front of Sakura, and spread his wings defensively. "Who are you?" he demanded of this strange girl. _How? To survive a fall from such a height she would have to have a great amount of power, yet all my senses tell me she is a mere human. A human with the strength to punch Keroberos so hard, he is pushed back several feet? It doesn't make sense!_

Hotaru quickly sat up in order to identify possible attacks before slamming her eyes shut again. _Owww. My head hurts. I shouldn't have sat up so fast. Where am I?_

When Hotaru opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a black leather bag with the symbol of Saturn stitched in purple on the top. _Huh? That's not mine. At least, I don't think it's mine._ Hotaru's eyes scanned the are as she pulled the bag closer to her. She opened it up in order to inspect it. _After all, it does carry my symbol. So it's not like I'm snooping or anything._ When Hotaru reached in the bag, she pulled out the first thing she grabbed, a picture. A very familiar picture of all of the outers standing at the beach.

A picture she was sure she left sitting on top of her desk.

_**- Flashback -**_

"Come on Hotaru! We're going to be late!" an impatient Haruka called up the stairs as she paced by the front door. "Koneko will be there before us at the rate your going!"

"Calm down Haruka." Michiru laughed as she leaned against the wall, watching her lover with amusement. "It's her 16th birthday. Let her be late."

Haruka grumbled beneath her breath but stopped yelling at Hotaru. Both of them knew it wasn't really Hotaru's 16th birthday, but after being reborn after the Final Fight with Chaos, Hotaru's body had aged to the point that she looked 16. The senshi, deciding that they needed to have some fun for once, said that they were going to have some fun at the beach and that they would have a birthday party for Hotaru there, despite Hotaru's protests.

"That's it. I've waited long enough." Haruka marched back to the stairs with a determined gleam in her eyes. "Hotaru!" she yelled. "Chibi-Usa will be at the beach!"

A yelp of excitement came from upstairs. "I'm coming!" a breathless Hotaru called as she ran down the stairs, pulling on her shoes.

_**- End Flashback -**_

Hotaru closed her eyes tightly, in an attempt to not remember, to not see the memories.

_**- Flashback -**_

All of the senshi were lying on the beach, sunbathing. Hotaru lay off to one side, thinking about the others. _They look so happy. For the first time in two years, they have peace. There are no enemies left now that Chaos has been defeated._

Hotaru looked over at the other senshi. Her eyes lingering for a moment on Chibi-Usa, Mamoru and Usagi. _The future Crystal Tokyo is secured now that Mamoru and Usagi have gotten engaged. Chibi-Usa said that there have been no more attacks, and now that she finally looks her age she's getting engaged to Helios._

Hotaru's heart began to turn to lead in her chest as she made as decision. _I can't tell them. How could I ruin this? If I stay, eventually they'll know and it will ruin everything._

Hotaru turned her head and closed her eyes, missing the look in the eyes of the Time Guardian.

_I have to go._

In that quiet moment, if the others had listened carefully, they would have heard the quiet shattering of a heart.

_**- End Flashback -**_

Sakura, watching the girl open the bag and pull something out, felt pity in her heart as she watched the girl freeze then slowly crumple.

"Hey." Sakura called softly to her, walking forwards. "Are you okay?"

Hotaru's head snapped up and, looking at the people around her, dealt a Death Glare worthy of Hades himself. _Who are these people?_

In front of Hotaru stood four humans and one lion. One of the humans, a girl, was holding a video camera. She had long wavy blue/black hair that came to her knees and was wearing a blue skirt and a white peasant top. Next to her stood a boy with chestnut coloured hair wearing Chinese-style green and cream clothing and he had a sword clutched in his hands. Standing slightly behind him was another girl. This one had long, light brown hair that came to just below her shoulders. The top half of her hair was pulled into two pigtails at the back of her head except for two bangs of hair that fell to just below her chin.

On the other side of her was another man, again slightly in front of the girl with brown hair. Unlike the other three humans, this one was obviously not human. For one thing, he had wings, large, white, fluffy bird's wings that actually looked like they would work. For another, his eyes looked like a cats. They were a pale ice blue and had slit pupils. He had long white hair that fell to the ground and his clothing was a picture of White and Silver.

Finally, Hotaru turned her attention to the lion. At least she thought it was a lion. It would have looked like a lion if it weren't for the large white wings coming out of its back and the metal hat sort of thing it was wearing. And then there was the fact that it could talk, if clutching its face and muttering things that sounded suspiciously like swearwords could be called talking.

_Okay. Weird. The one with the camera seems normal enough, but the other three and the lion have very high power readings. Who are they?_

Hotaru looked at them a moment longer before looking around her. _I don't recognize anything._ "Where am I?"

"You're in Penguin Park" Sakura answered her.

_Say what?_ Hotaru's head whipped back, and she fixed her attention on the one who spoke. _What's a Penguin Park? I've never heard of a penguin park before._ Puzzled, Hotaru looked into the bag again, in the hopes that some clue might be inside it. What she found shocked her into speechlessness.

She found a letter.

A letter addressed to her.

In Plutonian.

Hands shaking, Hotaru carefully opened the envelope. _Why would there be a letter in here from Pluto?_

_- -_

_ Dear Hotaru._

_ I'm so sorry._

_ I know what you have been going through and I'm so sorry I couldn't say so. But what's happened needed to happen._

_ Hota, you are not going crazy._

_ What you need to control the voices, you cannot learn in our world. You needed to go to another world to train, to learn._

_ I have enrolled you at the local school, the same one that these ones I front of you go to, and have arranged accommodation for you at the local shrine with a Mizuki-san. The key to the house is on the key chain. You could ask them for directions, they know the way. But if you don't want to, follow the map in your bag._

_ I will watch you from the Gates. When you are ready, I will come for you._

_ If you are needed here, I will come for you._

_ I have watched these ones. You can trust them._

_ Be safe_

_ Pluto._

_- -_

Hotaru bowed her head and closed her eyes, remembering the pain and anguish she had gone through. She also remembered the look in Setsuna's eyes the last time she saw her.

She looked up. "My name is Hotaru Tomoe."

* * *

Well? What do we think? Don't forget, I love hearing what you think so review and please, be brutaly honest with me. I have thick skin, i can take it. You can tell me what bits you liked and what bits you thought were only good for toilet paper.

I'm serious.

Ice.


	5. Chapter 4

Hey all.

Not feeling too good about this update. I've had an obnoxiously busy week so I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on this chapter and I'm not sure if its good or not.

And on another note, my laptop is going on holiday with a friend for the next three weeks so i'm not sure if i'll be able to update next week on time. It will depend if the family-dinosour-of-a-computer decideds to be nice to me.

Hope you enjoy this chapter anyway.

Ice.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Four.**

"Hi! I'm Sakura." Smiled the girl with brown hair. "These are my friends. The one with the camera is Tomoyo, the Chinese boy with the sword is Shaoran, the one with wings is Yue and the lion is Keroberos." Sakura pointed in the direction of each of her friends while she kept her eyes on Hotaru.

"Where are you from?" Asked Tomoyo, still filming everything. "How did you get here?"

_This is going to be hard to explain._ Hotaru sighed. "It's a very long story, one I'm not certain I wish to share. It has… Many painful memories." Her eyes darkened with pain and sadness.

"Well, why don't we start with small things," Tomoyo offered. "Did you fall?"

"Did you make that crater?" Shaoran cut in impatiently before Hotaru could answer. Hotaru looked around her, noticing the crater she sat in for the first time.

"Yes, I believe I did." She turned her attention back to her questioners.

"How?" Snapped Shaoran.

Hotaru just stared at him. "I fell."

Shaoran growled in exasperation. "From where?"

"Up there." Hotaru replied, pointing upwards. Everyone looked upwards at the empty sky.

Shaoran's temper snapped. "What do you mean 'Up there'?!?! There's nothing to fall from! How do you fall from nothing!?!"

"I don't know. You tell me." As Hotaru continued to stare at him, Shaoran began to sputter in anger. "You need to calm down magician." Hotaru told Shaoran. "It's not good for your health to be so stressed. It can lead to heart attacks"

Shaoran froze. "What did you just call me?"

"Magician." Hotaru stated. "A person who uses magic. And don't try to tell me you don't use magic. Your sword is filled with it, suggesting that you channel your magic through it. That key around Sakura's neck is humming as well, although I don't see how anyone could channel that amount of power through such a small thing." Everyone froze and stared intently at Hotaru, all of them looking like fish with their mouths opening and closing. "What? Was I not supposed to guess?"

"How did you know that they use magic?" Yue quietly asked Hotaru as he began to put himself in front of Sakura and Tomoyo. Tomoyo however began to side step Yue so that she could keep everyone in the camera shot.

"I told you. I can feel it." Hotaru began to get annoyed with them. _What is he, deaf?_

"How is it that a human, with no magical ability at all, can sense magical items?" Yue asked of her as he walked closer. "Are you a threat? An enemy to be defeated?"

"What is that supposed to mean, Youma?" Hotaru growled as she shot to her feet in anger. _I'm getting tired of the Twenty Questions. What right do they have to ask me anything? I just want to find a bed and go to sleep._

"Are you dangerous?" Yue asked bluntly.

"Yes." snarled Hotaru. "But then, so is a butter knife if used correctly."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yue demanded in annoyance shifting slightly so that he could move in any direction at a moments notice. He glimpsed Keroberos moving out of the corner of his eye and knew that if need be, Kero could attack this strange girl while he grabbed Sakura, Shaoran and Tomoyo and ran.

Hotaru noticed Yue was getting into a position to attack so made an effort to calm down and control her voice. She didn't know the power structure in this world yet, and it wouldn't do any good to alienate potential allies in her first hour here. "It means, that anything can be dangerous. In the right hands and with the right motive, a weak person could kill a stronger person with a butter knife. Merely asking me if I am dangerous will not give you the answer you seek."

Yue thought for a moment then carefully rephrased his question. "Are you a danger to Sakura?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Hotaru told him honestly. "I haven't been in this world very long. I wouldn't know."

"What do you mean, 'This world'? " Keroberos asked, now that it appeared the danger was over and his face didn't hurt so much.

_Oops. Me and my big mouth. Oh, well. Setsuna said I could trust them. But how much should I trust them with?_ "Well." Hotaru said, trying to stall for time. "It's kind of a long story."

"We have time." Yue informed her, folding his arms over his chest and tucking his wings close to his back.

Hotaru sighed. _I'll keep it simple; tell them only what they need to know right now._ "There was a fight." She explained. "The Sailor Senshi, guardians of the earth, was fighting a Youma, a monster made from evil. The Senshi were locked in a stalemate with the Youma. Neither they nor the Youma were winning, and that was unusual. It was like it was toying with them while it blasting everything in sight. It looked like half a block had been demolished by it. I got caught in one of its blasts. I should have hit a building but for some reason, I didn't. I landed here." _That should be enough. They don't need to know that I'm one of the Sailor Senshi, let alone the Senshi of death, and I won't tell them unless I absolutely have to. I'm just a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time._

Hotaru paused again, then looked at Yue. "I'm sorry I called you a Youma. It was uncalled for. I was way out of line and I knew it. Just because I was mad at you gave me no right to call you that." Yue said nothing, only nodded his head in acknowledgement of her apology.

"How did you get here?" Asked Keroberos. _This is interesting._

"I don't know." Hotaru answered truthfully. "But I think I have to be here. According to this letter, I'm here to learn, and you are somehow involved."

"Who wrote that letter?" Yue asked. "How could they know?"

"The Guardian of Time wrote it." Hotaru answered, seeing no reason to lie. "One of the Sailor Senshi."

"Why were you sent?"

"I don't know." Hotaru's eye's darkened in grief. "I don't even know if the other's survived the fight. They were losing when I was hit."

"You sound like you know them." Sakura said gently to this saddened girl. "Are they friends of yours?"

Hotaru weighed up how much to tell her. "If they die, the earth will be doomed." She said finally. "The Senshi are all that stand before the darkness. If they fall, the Earth, the Solar System and everything in it will be destroyed."

"Sakura." A voice growled from the shadows, interrupting whatever question Shaoran was about to ask her. "What are you wearing?" Sakura blushed as Touya stepped into the light and glared at her clothes, or lack there-of.

"Touya!" Exclaimed Sakura. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. Do you have any idea what time it is? It is a school night you know." Touya growled at his sister. "And why are you wearing that?"

Sakura blushed, uncertain of what to say to her over protective brother concerning the clothing she was wearing. _Tomoyo, you die for putting me in this stuff._

"Don't blame her, Touya-san." Tomoyo said, trying to calm the irate man. "I always trial my clothes out on Sakura, you know that. And if it's any consolation, it took all of my persuasive skills to get her into that."

"It's not." Touya definitely disapproved of his little sister walking around the city, after dark, in a halter-top and skirt that had less material combined than a handkerchief. _Especially walking around after dark with that brat._

"Here." Hotaru walked forwards and placed her black leather jacket on Sakura's shoulders. It came down to about Hotaru's calf's and Sakura's ankles. "You look cold anyway."

"But what about you?" Sakura asked of her, about to give her back her jacket.

Hotaru just smiled at her. "I'm wearing more than you are." She spread her arms a little, showing them that in her long sleeve purple top and black jeans, she was more warmly dressed that Sakura. "I'll be fine."

"Who are you?" Touya glared at her suspiciously. "I've never seen you around here before."

Hotaru just smiled as she turned around and picked up her bag. "I've never seen you around here before either." She stopped for a moment and looked at the others. "You know, I think he just said it was a school night. You really should get going. It is kind of late." And with that, Hotaru turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tomoyo called out, still filming everything. "Do you need someplace to stay?"

"Thing have been arranged."

"But what about your jacket?" Sakura asked.

"Give it back to me at school." Hotaru paused at the edge of the shadows, and said over her shoulder, "By the way Touya, my name is Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe."

They stood there for a moment, staring at the shadows in which Hotaru had just disappeared.

"Where did she come from?" Asked Touya.

"Did she say we'd see her at school?"

**- Later -**

Hotaru checked the map she had found in her bag one last time. It had marked on it in a royal purple all the essential things like where Penguin Park was, where that school was and where her new home was.

There were also four other markings on her map, each in a different colour. In pink was the Kinomouto house where Keroberos, Sakura, Touya and a Fujitaka lived. In green was Shaoran and someone named Wei. In violet were Tomoyo and Sonomi and in silver was Yukito/Yue.

_Well, this seems to be the right place,_ thought Hotaru as she walked up to knock on the door of what she hoped was her new home. However, before she could knock on the door, a woman with long dark red hair opened it. The woman had the same air of mysteriousness that Setsuna had.

"I see you got here safely Hotaru." She said. "I was starting to get a little concerned."

"How do you know my name?" Hotaru asked of her.

"Why don't you come inside before I explain? We could be standing out here all night otherwise." Mizuki stepped aside to allow Hotaru to come inside. After they had settled in the lounge and had each had a cup of tea in front of them, she began to talk.

"About a week ago, I was contacted by Sailor Pluto." She explained. "She said that you would be coming to this world tonight and that you would need someone to stay with, someone who would accept you for who you are and would not be alarmed by your abilities."

"Did she tell you what those abilities are?" _How much did you tell her, Puu? Does she know about the voices?_

"Only that you are a healer and that you are a senshi." Mizuki took a sip of her tea.

"Why you?" Hotaru asked, bluntly. "Of all the people in this city, why did she ask you?"

"Because I am accustomed to using and being in the presence of magic." She said. "I can also be trusted with secrets, and I will not reveal yours until you give me leave to."

Hotaru thought for a moment, and then nodded her head, accepting what she had said. "You know that as a senshi, I will won't to train while I am here."

"Yes, that is why I have set up a training room in the back. But I shall show that to you in the morning. It is time for bed." Mizuki put her tea back on the table before rising and lead Hotaru to her room. "Pluto told me that you would not need any clothing, so there is nothing in the wardrobe except your new school uniform. On the desk are your school schedule, some identification and money. Tomorrow I will take you to your school. Sleep well."

Hotaru looked around her new room. _Well, it's a good thing I packed all of my stuff before I left._

* * *

Just incase you missed it at the top, my laptop is going on holiday for three weeks with a friend so my updates are going todepend on the family computer and if it decideds to like me.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter. I wasn't all that happy with it.

Ice.


End file.
